CAN POKÉMON GO BE REVIVED?

CAN POKÉMON GO USE A REVIVE? HAS POKÉMON GO MANIA FAINTED??

Upon release Pokémon GO was one of the most successful apps ever, with immediate viral public appeal. It was so popular, in fact, that it crashed Niantic’s servers due to the popularity. One can speculate that Niantic underestimated the popularity of the product. Pokémon GO was constantly in the news and the public eye during July, August and September. Much like the late 90’s, Pokémania was in full effect, and just like in the 90s, Pokémon Go’s popularity has subsided. In our opinion, Niantic lacked a long term business strategy when launching this product. With the recent release of Gen 2, what can Niantic do to regain some of that “spark” from the summer of 2016?

Here are some ideas that could revive the franchise:

Boost marketing efforts during spring

Capitalize on social media apps

Trading with friends

Encourage outside social interactivity

Capitalize on the nostalgia factor

Boost marketing efforts during Spring 2017: The weather will be nice enough for people to walk outside and be active again, give them something they can do outside! There is no better way to regain an audience than reminding people of your product as they come out of their winter hibernation. We suggest marketing on social media platforms like Facebook, Tumblr and Instagram. Their next best marketing move will be finally releasing the long-awaited Legendary Pokemon to kick-off another chapter for the game series.

Ellen managed to persuade a Bulbasaur to stick around for a photo-op.

Capitalize on social media apps: Pokémon Go should first decide which channels best suit its needs and then put processes in place to make sure that these channels are feeding customers through the funnel of decision making for purchases and providing the full-frontal user experience. Partnering up with Snapchat, much like bitmoji, can help Pokémon GO stay relevant and “in” within the eyes of the target demographic: millennials.

Trading with friends: Part of what made Pokémon so popular in the 90’s was the ability to become social with other people by simply trading IRL. Having a trading mechanic (which so many people have been asking for) that limits trading Pokémon to people within 4 feet of you will help users attain Pokémon they don’t have in their home biome.

Encourage outside social interactivity: Setting Pokémon lures should be an incentive for Pokémon GO players to gather. The lure setter should earn extra XP for everyone catching Pokémon in their lure, which means more $$ for Niantic. Since their revenue comes from their limited PokéCoin sales and by selling user information, seems as though they’re about due for a steady cash flow.

Capitalize on the nostalgia factor:Nostalgia is a MAJORRemember the good ol’ days…

factor in games and platforms that have been around for multiple generations. Just look at the Super Mario Run app. These 2nd Gen Pokémon create less feelings of nostalgia and home for long-time Pokémon community members. Pokémon Go needs to unleash the power that’s already inside. New Pokémon Go fans are not as familiar with the newer generations. We recommend having small story lines that introduce the new generation of Pokémon. Sticking with the first 151 Pokémon is not a sustainable strategy and moving forward they need to work harder to integrate newer generations.

Historically speaking, the Pokémon franchise can attribute its popularity to the social interactions it facilitated, whether that be meeting another Pikachu lover or trading someone for the their best Pokémon card. In the early 2000s once the original Pokémon fever had died down the franchise was able to stay relevant within their niche market, with the constant release of new Pokémon generations. Even though the Pokémon franchise was not as prominent in popular media’s eyes the Pokémon Company has survived more than 20 years with each Pokémon game outselling its competition. We believe Pokémon Go can be revived.